Known for breaking hearts around the world, breaking up New York City brawls, inspiring memes and elevating shirtless-ness to an art form (a fact I’ve appreciated many, many times), actor Ryan Gosling has now set his sights (and sense of smell) on the fragrance world with a new perfume called Hey Girl, coming to department stores this spring.

Makeup and Beauty Blog caught up with Ryan at San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel this weekend to dish about his latest endeavor, his rippled abs and his weakness for chocolate doughnuts.

A transcript of my 5-minute interview follows, but here’s what you need to take away from this:

Ryan Gosling is just as nice (and gorgeous) in person as he seems in movies and interviews

He may show you his abs if you ask him to, but it could require some shameless begging

KAREN: So, Ryan, I hear you’re taking a break from acting.

RYAN: Yes.

KAREN: What are Ryan Gosling’s next plans? — not that you ever refer to yourself in the third person or anything… You know what I mean.

RYAN: [laughs] Well, Ryan Gosling does have a few things up his sleeve.

KAREN: I know! Like saving more pedestrians from traffic accidents?

RYAN: Has everyone seen that video??

KAREN: [laughs] Just about.

RYAN: I don’t know, it’s like the cameras appear out of nowhere. I buy Gatorade and it’s on Yahoo! the next day.

KAREN: Dude, like it or not, you’re an Internet sensation.

RYAN: I figure I’ll just roll with it, you know?

KAREN: Or turn it into a beauty empire. That’s an interesting twist for you — the world of celeb perfumes?

RYAN: Yeah, well, I’ve always liked scents, you know, and I’m just in tune with that kind of thing, like I have these vivid memories of different perfumes and fragrances from different times in my life. And I’ve always liked that moment when you walk by a woman on the street and you catch a whiff of her fragrance. That’s why I knew I wanted to create something that my mom and sister would love.

KAREN: Aw, that’s so sweet! Did your mom and sister help you with Hey Girl?

RYAN: They did. I’d overnight them samples of the different versions along the way, and they’d text or call me with feedback, like what they thought worked and didn’t work. My mom would call me in the middle of the night and say, “Too spicy. Needs more rose.”

KAREN: It’s very comforting — honestly, like what I imagine getting a hug from you would be like…

RYAN: [laughs] You can have a hug if you want. Come here, I’ll give you a hug.

KAREN: Are we really gonna hug it out, Ryan Gosling? [he leans in for a hug] I guess we are! Okay, back to the fragrance. How would you describe Hey Girl?

RYAN: It’s an oriental floral, heavy on the rose, with warm base notes. In my mind I had this picture of a woman at a swanky lounge. Black Dolce & Gabbana cocktail dress, high heels, red lips. She’s confident, she knows what she wants, and she makes everybody laugh, from the waiters to the bartender to the guys who walk up and say, “Hello, miss. Can I buy you a drink?”

KAREN: I want to be that girl.

RYAN: It took a lot of care, a lot of time, to get exactly where I wanted it [the fragrance] to go.

KAREN: Well, I’m getting the cut-off sign from your handler over there, so it looks like I’m down to my last question…

RYAN: Go for it.

KAREN: Will you show me your abs?

RYAN: [laughs] Are you for real?

KAREN: Kinda.

RYAN: I skipped my sit-ups this morning and ate a chocolate doughnut.

KAREN: No you didn’t! Don’t lie.

RYAN: No, really, I did.

KAREN: Please? Pretty, pretty please? Help a girl out. I don’t want to beg, but I’ll totally go there if I have to.

i believed this for a minute, but was thinking, “ryan made a scent?! no way!” i kept reading, and the conversation sounded legit. hahaha. good one, karen 🙂 that would be FANTASTIC if the story was totally true 🙂

That was such a good April Fool joke. At first I thought this can’t be real. As I read it sounded legit. As I continued it felt more like a dream. I kept looking back at the picture trying to figure out if it was really real. But you had me going for a while.

My daughter and I are debating if this is a prank or not! I totally believed it until my daughter said “Mooommm, it’s April Fool’s Day!” and then I realized you are totally the type of chick that would do this! LOL 🙂 It really is hard to tell just by the pic. Let us know Karen…!